The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1) (32 page)

This might seem like semantics, particularly when thinking
about how in war, each soldier was an expendable tool, and leaders like Jack
had sacrificed those tools to win battles, weighing the value of each soldier’s
life against the value of the overall mission. But that was during war time,
and those were soldiers. Their job was to put themselves in mortal danger to
help the leaders accomplish their goals. You can’t look at your civilians the
same way.

“I believe Marcus is sincere in his desires to keep our
population safe. Theodore, I think... well, I think he would allow some people
to die if it meant a stronger future for the community. Caleb and William are
followers. They have ambitions and goals for New Hope, but if their perceived
leader said that some people had to die in order for New Hope to live, they
would probably agree.”

“Is there anyone outside the council that you see as a
threat to New Hope?”

This question seemed to surprise Chuck, and he didn’t answer
right away. “There are always a few assholes in any group of people. I could
certainly point out a handful in New Hope. Some of the locals are envious of
the reborn, and there have been some issues in the past few years. When you
look at the situation the locals have grown up in, it is difficult to think
that any of them have any intentions other than rebuilding humanity. I’m no
psychologist, but I can see that the introduction of the reborn into their
world could really shake them up. I don’t have any particular person in mind as
a threat, but I guess I can see the potential for it.”

This insight was very much along the lines Jack had been
thinking. “Chuck, I think someone in New Hope is a traitor. I don’t have any
proof and I certainly can’t point the finger at anyone, but I don’t see any
alternative.”

Chuck looked at him quizzically. “I think you need to tell
me what’s going on. What exactly happened today?”

Jack nodded. “Sorry to be so cryptic. Those Mutes we
ambushed? Well, I overheard an argument between two of them before we attacked.
They talked about working for Cali, trying to capture some of the New Hope
members for them.” He paused to gauge Chuck’s reaction.

“That doesn’t particularly surprise me. Judging by the pilot
we captured yesterday, it seems Cali is really hot to find out what we have
been doing in Montana. They are a resource rich community, and they would
easily stoop so low as to paying the Mutes for a New Hope captive to
interrogate.”

“Yeah, it’s depressing, but I got the same impression. While
delivering this information to the council earlier, I remembered a much more
disturbing part of the argument though. They let on that their leader had been
told where our salvage group would be this morning.” Jack let that sink in.

Chuck’s reaction was quick. “I was wondering how they were
taken off guard like that! The pilot would have scouted the area before landing
and would have been able to spot a full Mute camp within ten or fifteen miles
of the landing site. The best Cali could have done was watch where our crew
landed with their satellite and relayed that info to a nearby group of Mutes. There
is no way those Mutes had time to get an ambush together if they were notified in
that amount of time. Mother Fucker!” There was silence for a moment as both men
stewed over the thought of a traitor in New Hope. “Are you implying that you
did not relay this information to the council?”

Jack shook his head. “No, I realized before saying it that
any member, or all of them, could be the party responsible.” He shrugged. “I
can’t put it together. I see the power struggle between Marcus and Theodore. They
are using me and this operation against each other. If I succeed, I think it
strengthens Marcus’ power as leader. If I fail, Theodore can use that against
Marcus, saying that if he were fit to rule he never would have chosen me to
lead the men on such an important mission. The problem is, I don’t see how
either of them would benefit from losing valuable people and equipment, or how
letting Cali know our secrets would help anyone but Cali.”

Chuck looked at Jack and said, “If the Mutes did indeed get
advance information on one of our scouting parties, then there is no question
someone from New Hope is working with Cali. Until we figure out who it is, we
have to keep this information to ourselves.”

“That’s why I came to you with this, Chuck. I don’t know who
I can trust besides you and...” He couldn’t think about Wendy without
envisioning her being hunted by Mutes.

“Jack, try not to worry about her. She’s as tough as they
come, and if anyone can make it out of there alive, it’s her.” His words were
comforting, but not very encouraging. He felt a need to get back to base and
ask for an update. He knew that they would contact him on his pad if there were
any major developments, but like nearly everything else around him, instant
communication was something new and he still needed to speak face to face with
someone that could tell him where things stood.

They headed back to New Hope. The sun was really low now, pretty
much crushing any hope of Wendy being rescued tonight. Despite the warm
afternoon, he shivered when he thought of her being in a mountain forest at
night, hunted by Mutes.

Wendy was cold. The sun was almost down, and the temperature
had dropped to about forty degrees Fahrenheit. They had climbed almost five
hundred more feet in elevation as they moved deeper into the mountains. Her
under suit acted as a good insulator, but it had been a while since she spent
any time in the elements, and her body was not used to it. Her knee was feeling
better, and she could put some weight on it now. Her hand ached, but the
swelling had already gone down a little. Instead of black and blue, it was
turning an ugly color of red and brown.

They had chosen a small clearing to make camp, and Anton was
setting up perimeter sensors and some explosive traps. They would take turns
keeping watch, but there would be no need to have a patrol walking the
perimeter. They had not heard or seen any sign of pursuit in the last three
hours, but they also had not been able to contact any rescue team either. Wendy
hoped the rescue team had not been ambushed like they had. It was bad enough
they had lost a medium transport and one of their crew. The thought of more
lives lost in attempt to save her and the others was unbearable.

Her thoughts turned to Jack. His new status as leader of the
large operation would not allow him to come looking for her, and if she was
right, that would be his first instinct. Of course, for all she knew, he was
enjoying a nice quiet evening with Cat. Depression was added to the fear, pain,
and cold she already felt.

Anton materialized out of the trees in front of her. It worried
her how well the forest covered up the sound of someone approaching. Sleep
would not come easily, despite her exhaustion. “Traps are all set and a
perimeter alarm is armed. If anything bigger than a raccoon gets within fifty
yards of us, we will know it. I will take first watch.”

Wendy protested, but Anton would have nothing to do with it.
She needed the rest, and there was no argument. After eating some food from the
packs, the two other men turned in for the night. Wendy stayed up for a little
while, not quite ready to start trying to chase sleep, and still feeling guilty
that Anton was taking the first shift after such a long day’s hike. She tried
to make some small talk with him.

“You’ve been living with Christine, right?” Christine was a
local, one who had been cloned more than once. Her primary skill was that of a
mother, so Wendy knew very little about her.

“Yeah, for about a year now. One of the children is mine,
and I wanted to be a part of his life. Marcus gave us the go ahead to have
another together, so we’ve been working on that.” He said it with a hint of
fatherly pride. Anton, like most of the reborn, looked to be in his middle
twenties.

“Did you have a family before you died?” There was never a
graceful way to ask about someone’s previous life, but it had become
commonplace to refer to everything before they were reborn as “before you
died”.

Anton nodded. “I had a wife, three kids, and two
grandchildren.” He didn’t elaborate, and Wendy didn’t push it. It was
depressing enough knowing she had died at a young age, but if she had already
had children and even grandchildren, she didn’t know how she would have been
able to cope with the knowledge that your children were long dead.

“I hear you have been spending some time with Jack. How is
that going?”

She snorted, “You know, small talk used to be about the
weather, about the wife and kids, and maybe about sports, not about who you are
sleeping with.” Then she flushed, not having meant to say this out loud and
feeling a little ashamed considering she had been the one to bring up
relationships.

Anton just laughed, not seeming to take it wrong. “The world
is a different place, Wendy.” He didn’t say more, and she wasn’t sure she
wanted to continue this line of conversation.

“I’m not sure where that whole thing is at. Jack is a hot
item right now, and frankly I don’t know if I can compete with the other women
in that area.” She
really
had not meant to share that. Of all the things
going on, she couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t let this go. Given their
current circumstances, she wasn’t even sure if she would make it home to see
him again, let alone to find out if they were still together.

Now it was his turn to scoff. “Wendy, you’re like, the most
attractive woman in New Hope, and you’re worried that you can’t compete with
the locals?” She flushed at this comment, both flattered and embarrassed by it.

He took her reaction wrong though and quickly said, “Not to
mean that all you have going for you is your looks or your ability to seduce a
man, uh, I mean, you are a strong, smart woman who should be able to get
anything, or anyone, you want.” Then he winced as if he still thought he was
putting his foot in his mouth.

She smiled to relax him, “Thank you for the compliments and
the reassurance. I don’t know how much I deserve them, but thank you
nevertheless. Despite what you might think of me, I don’t really have it all
together, and I certainly don’t feel secure in my ability to keep a man in New
Hope.”

“Frankly, I don’t think you are alone there. This situation
might seem like a dream for any guy, but it is not nearly as easy or simple as
it appears on the surface. I would trade it all for Christine to just be like
any normal woman from our time. Any man who could have a chance at a real relationship
with a woman as incredible as you who would still throw it away for some easy
sex with the locals is both a fool and undeserving.”

As uncomfortable as she was talking about this sort of thing
with a man, or anyone for that matter, his words were comforting. She sat in
silence just letting them sink in.

“So what do you think we should do in the morning? I’ll be
pretty much healed up, although I don’t know if I’ll be using my hand for a few
days.” She absentmindedly flexed the injured hand a few times while talking.

“I think we should head through the pass to the east and
make our way to Montana. I used to vacation in this area once in a while. We
are only about ten miles from what used to be West Yellowstone, a small tourist
town that was a central point for some snowmobile trails in the area. We have
been roughly following a pass that leads through Two Top Mountain. From there
we can pick up the interstate and either head back toward where we landed, or
maybe head north.”

“What’s north?” Wendy didn’t like the idea of heading back
towards the landing site. She would just as soon put some distance between her
and the Mutes.

“Nothing much for a while. We are probably a three week hike
to the Freezer, but we can reach it from here without too much problem. We
would not make it before the big operation though, and by then it could be
swarming with Calis. If we go back, we might be able to reach a rescue team
though.”

“Or we might run into the Mutes and get captured or killed.”
Neither option was good, and for the first time since the battle, she started
worrying about her own future.

“True, but they won’t expect us to head back, and quite
frankly I wouldn’t mind giving them a little payback.” He was a soldier, and
while Wendy had been in the military, she never considered herself a soldier. Her
stomach gurgled, revealing how nervous she was. Anton noticed and said “Don’t
worry, whichever way we go, I will do my best to keep us all safe.”

Wendy smiled. For the past four months, she had been so
overwhelmed by the thought of being forced to have children, she had not really
considered that perhaps there were some men worth getting to know here. She had
maintained the mindset that they were all just after her body, out to score
points by taking her as a prize. She felt embarrassed now, realizing that she
had really been a bitch to every man in New Hope. “Thanks, Anton.” She got up
to get ready for sleep, and on impulse, kissed him on the cheek. He blushed
then smiled.

She carefully crawled into the small tent, favoring her
injured knee. She pulled off the armor pieces, leaving her under suit on for
warmth. The thin thermal blanket was not very comfortable, but it did the job
of keeping her relatively warm, and soon she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The sound of birds chirping woke her up. Peeking out of the
tent revealed that morning had indeed come, and it was time to get up. Before
attempting to remove herself from the small survival tent, she flexed her knee.
It was stiff but functional. She had to pee, but hadn’t gone outdoors since her
last military exercise almost three years past. Wayne was on the last watch,
and turned to her as she crawled out of the tent and stood up. The morning air
was brisk and chilly, and her first deep breath triggered a yawn and a shiver. After
a night on the hard ground in a very small tent, it felt good to get out and
stretch. Her eyes closed, arms over her head, she arched her back, letting out
a little moan as the muscles throughout her body got a good shot of blood for
the first time since she fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes, Wayne was staring at her, a look
on his face she was quite used to. Looking down at herself, she realized that
not only did the skin tight suit reveal every curve and detail of her body, but
the cold morning had turned her nipples to little stones and they were standing
proud through the flexible material. Short of her shaving preference, there was
absolutely nothing left to the imagination. Flushing in anger and
embarrassment, she met his gaze. He quickly looked away, mumbling, “Good
morning.”

Without answering, she stalked away, heading to find a
suitable tree against which to relieve herself. Along the way, it dawned on her
that she had once again overreacted to the situation. It was hardly the man’s
fault for staring – she knew she had a figure that was much desired by men, and
here she was practically shoving it in his face, subconsciously expecting him
to turn away even though it was her own lack of modesty that drew the attention
in the first place. Guilt replaced the anger that had come so easily.

She returned to the tent, climbed in and strapped on her
armor, covering the very revealing undersuit. After climbing out, she sat down
next to Wayne and said “I’m sorry, I guess I’m not much of a morning person. How
did you sleep?” It was not exactly the truth, but he smiled and nodded,
accepting it at face value.

“Good, and you?”

“All things considered, not too bad. It’s safe to say you
won’t have to carry me today. My knee is much better.”

“Bah... you barely weigh a hundred pounds, but it’s good to
know we can move faster if we need to today.” He didn’t meet her eyes, but she
still smiled at the compliment. He handed her a pack of food.

By the time she was done eating, the other men were awake
and breaking down the camp. The air up here was thin and everyone was winded by
the time they finished. Wendy marveled at how they had made it this far
yesterday, especially carrying her most of the way.

Anton spent a few minutes taking down the traps and the perimeter
alarm. When he was ready, they looked to him for direction. “We’ll continue
over this pass until we get to the old highway. From there we have a choice to
make. We can either head north, spending a few weeks making our way toward the
cryogenic facility, or we head back toward the landing area where we were
ambushed. If we head north, chances are we won’t make the facility before New
Hope has already cleaned it out. It will likely be swarming with scavengers
from all the communities, and we can hope to meet one that is willing to call
for a ride home. If we head southwest, we might be able to get within range of
the rescue efforts before they stop looking for us. Unfortunately this means
risking another run in with the Mutes.”

“What about using the emergency beacon to let New Hope let
us know where we are?” It was Wayne who had spoken.

Anton shrugged. “We could try, but if they don’t have
someone close, Cali could have someone here to pick us up before anyone from
New Hope would be here” Nobody liked either of the options.

Anton decided it. “I think our best chance is heading back
toward the site. If the Mutes attacked the rescue party yesterday, chances are
New Hope will send a large force to take them out. If not, they will have
discovered by now that we were not killed in the ambush, and send more search
parties for us. Either way I think we have a good chance of getting a rescue
party if we head back. I say we go that way.”

Wayne asked, “How long of a hike is it back to there?”

Anton looked at his PDP. “It’s about ten miles to the
highway, then another twenty or more to the landing site. If we move fast we
can make it there by tomorrow. The only other way back is the way we came. The
big hot zone we skirted yesterday is still affecting the radios in our PDPs. If
we make it over the pass, we should have enough distance from the radiation and
a better line of sight to New Hope. With any due luck, we can get in touch with
any rescue crew long before we get close to the landing site.”

Wayne nodded, satisfied in the answer, and nobody else had a
suggestion, so they followed Anton.

The hike up the pass was tough, the thin air causing more
rest breaks. At the third stop, Anton approached Wendy and in a low voice said,
“Don’t react, but I think someone is following us. I spotted movement to our
left two times in the last hour. Keep your sidearm ready in case something
happens.” Wendy nodded. He repeated the process two more times, approaching the
two other men and quietly informing them of the situation. Wendy was nervous. She
didn’t have a helmet or a rifle. Her pistol would be effective against the
unarmored Mutes, but it was little comfort. She tried to keep looking into the
trees as they moved on, but soon it gave her a headache, and she had to focus
on the ground in front of her for a while.